President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said that by 2022 the capitals of Sikkim, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland will be on the rail network.
"Thanks to the efforts of the government, by 2022 capitals of Sikkim, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland will get connected by the Rail network," said President Kovind while addressing the Joint Session of Parliament, marking the beginning of the Budget Session.
"The Central and Assam Governments have recently signed a historic agreement with the Bodo organisations to bring an end to the 5-decade-old Bodo dispute," said President Kovind.
"Another, landmark agreement among Tripura, Mizoram, Central government and the Bru community has not only resolved a decades-old problem but has also ensured a secure life for thousands of people belonging to the Bru community," he said.
Talking about the reforms carried out by the Centre in the past five years at the grassroots level, he said: "Thanks to the efforts made by the government at the ground level in the past five years, there is a significant improvement in India's global ranking in many fields."
Referring to the World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business' ranking, the President said that India has jumped to 63rd position from 79.
"In Resolving Insolvency ranking, India has reached 52nd position from 108th while in the Global Innovation ranking 52nd from 74th," he said.
Talking about the Performance Index, President Kovind said that India has improved by 10 points while in Travel and Tourism Competitiveness ranking of World Economic Forum, India has reached 34th position from 52nd.
The President also stressed the need for keeping "national interest paramount" while fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the countrymen.
"Our Constitution expects from this Parliament and every member present in this House to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the countrymen and make necessary laws for them, keeping national interest paramount," he said.
Kovind also said that any form of violence in the name of protest makes "our society and country weaker."
"My government clearly believes that mutual discussion and debate make democracy stronger. While any form of violence in name of protest, makes our society and country weaker," said Kovind.
The President's remarks come a day after a juvenile was arrested for brandishing a pistol and shooting towards students protesting against the amended citizenship law in Jamia area here on Thursday.
One student was injured in the incident. Protests at multiple places in the country are also being held over the new law.
President Kovind also said that this decade is very important for the country.
"In the last five years, the government has laid the foundation for making this century Bharat's century. This decade is very important for Bharat," he said.
The Union Budget will be presented on Saturday. The first phase of the session will conclude on February 11, while the second part of the session will begin from March 2 to end on April 3.
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